SEVEN DAYS OF FIGHTING.
The chances for taking Richmond became less with each day's delay.
While the Army of the Potomac were digging and delving in the swamps,
and constructing batteries, their ranks thinning out by disease, the
Rebels, also, were hard at work erecting defensive batteries, on firm
ground, and mounting guns of large caliber. Their ranks, instead of
growing thin, were filling up. Troops were hurried in from all parts of
the South. The Conscript law which the Confederate Congress had passed
was in operation, and was carried out with remorseless energy. Men were
compelled to enter the service.
The Union army in front of Richmond, on the 20th of June, numbered,
fit for duty, 115,102 men. There were 12,225 sick, and 20,511 absent.
Leaves of absence and furloughs had been granted freely. Officers and
men, on a slight pretext, found it not very difficult to obtain leave
of absence, and thus this army, through no fault of the government,
became greatly depleted.
At this time General Jackson was in the Shenandoah Valley with a large
force. By his operations there, it was found necessary to keep General
McDowell in position to cover Washington. On the 18th of June, General
McClellan informed the Secretary of War that deserters said troops were
on their way from Richmond to reinforce Jackson.
On the same day, a man entered the Union lines at Fredericksburg, who
pretended to be a Frenchman. He stated that he met from ten to fifteen
thousand men on their way to Gordonsville, going to join Jackson.
A despatch was also received from General Sigel, who was in the Valley,
that a large body of Rebels had arrived at Gordonsville.
All of this went to show that a grand movement was to be made in the
Valley, or upon Washington. Such, undoubtedly, the Rebel commanders
intended the government at Washington should understand their plan
to be. But they had no intention of marching down the Shenandoah
Valley, or of attacking Washington. They wished to prevent any more
reinforcements from joining General McClellan, and also to cover their
real point of attack.
General McClellan's army was still divided by the Chickahominy. Sumner,
Heintzelman, and Keyes were on the south side, and Porter and Franklin,
with McCall's newly arrived troops, were on the north bank.
The real object of the Rebels was to crush the force on the north
bank by a sudden stroke with their whole army. By the movement to
Gordonsville they allayed suspicion, and transferred a division to
a position from which it could be hurled upon the flank of General
McClellan's force on the northern bank.
All of the railroad cars and engines which could be obtained were
brought to Richmond over the Lynchburg road. Whiting's and Ewell's
divisions were placed on board and taken to Lynchburg, and thence to
Gordonsville where they joined Jackson; but not stopping there, were
brought with Jackson's army to Frederickshall, on the Virginia Central
Railroad. From thence this large force marched to Ashland, arriving
there on the 25th.[34]
[Footnote 34: Campaign from Texas to Maryland.]
General McClellan was informed by a deserter, on the 24th, that
Jackson, Whiting, and Ewell were at Frederickshall, and that it was
intended to attack his rear on the 28th.[35] The information was
confirmed on the 25th by negroes who arrived at the Union lines, and
stated that Jackson was at Hanover Court-House.
[Footnote 35: McClellan's Despatch. Testimony, p. 338.]
General McClellan's lines were more than twenty miles in length. His
extreme right was north of the city of Richmond, on the road called
the Brooke Turnpike. No change was made in the position of the troops,
no breastworks were thrown up to protect the rear and flank. The only
change was the removal of the head-quarters' camp to the south side of
the Chickahominy. General Fitz-John Porter was left in command of the
troops on the north side.
On the morning of the 26th, the Rebel forces in Richmond moved out
to join Jackson. General Branch's division marched by the Brooke
road. General A. P. Hill moved over the Mechanicsville Turnpike;
while General Longstreet and General D. H. Hill took the Coal-Harbor
road still farther east, and came to the Chickahominy at New Bridge.
General Magruder, with one division, was left on the south side of the
stream.[36] The Rebel force north of the Chickahominy numbered about
60,000; south of it, about 20,000. The Union army north numbered about
30,000; south, 70,000.
[Footnote 36: Pollard's Southern History, p. 329.]
BATTLE OF MECHANICSVILLE.
If we were to start in a skiff at the bridge on the Brooke road,
and float down the slow and winding Chickahominy three miles, we
should come first to Meadow Bridge, on the road leading from Richmond
to Shady-Grove Church. Two miles farther would bring us to the
Mechanicsville Turnpike. The little village of Mechanicsville is two
miles towards the north. Two miles below the Mechanicsville Bridge is
the Upper Trestle Bridge, built by General McClellan. Two miles farther
down is New Bridge, on the road leading from Richmond to Coal Harbor.
There is a high hill on the south side of the stream, on the plantation
of Dr. Lewis, where the Rebels had a battery which commanded the bridge
and prevented General McClellan from using it. There was also a battery
on the north side, which General McClellan had planted to prevent the
Rebels from crossing at that point, and cutting off the force which
he had advanced to Mechanicsville. Still farther down the stream were
other bridges which had been erected by General McClellan's engineers.
[Illustration: BATTLE OF MECHANICSVILLE.
=UNION TROOPS.=
1 Seymour's Brigade.
2 Reynolds's "
3 Griffin's "
4 Martindale's "
=REBEL TROOPS.=
A Hill's division.
B Branch's Brigade.
C Mechanicsville.
D Ellison's Mills.]
At noon the enemy was seen advancing upon Meadow Bridge. The long
column descended the bank, forded the stream above the bridge, and
disappeared in the woods.
The Bucktails, who had driven Stewart at Dranesville, were sent out
to support the pickets, but were surprised to see a body of cavalry
dashing into the road behind them. They faced about, drove the cavalry,
fell back to Mechanicsville, followed by the pickets.
General McCall, who commanded there, had thrown up a line of
breastworks on the east side of the creek. He formed his troops on the
slope, with his batteries on the crest of the hill. General Reynolds's
brigade had the right, and General Seymour's the left. General Meade's
brigade was brought up as a reserve. General Porter sent forward
Griffin's and Martindale's brigades, which took position on the right
of Reynolds. Having thus formed his line, he waited the advance of the
enemy.
The force which came in sight first was A. P. Hill's division, followed
by General Branch's.
A short distance from the Chickahominy, on the creek, was Ellison's
Mills. The road from Mechanicsville to New Bridge crossed the creek at
that point. Another road leading from Mechanicsville to Coal Harbor
crossed it farther up. Timber had been felled, rifle-pits dug, and the
artillery planted so as to rake the only two feasible approaches.
General Hill formed his line for the attack on Ellison's Mills, while
General Branch advanced along the upper road against Reynolds.
The battle began at three o'clock, and raged with fury till nine
o'clock. There were no movements in the Union lines. The men stood
in their places and poured an uninterrupted fire upon the enemy, who
were vainly endeavoring to cross the ravine and scale the heights. The
artillery, fifty pieces, rained solid shot, shells, grape, canister,
shrapnel, all sorts of missiles, producing great slaughter.
General D. H. Hill arrived with his division, and joined in the attack
upon Seymour at the Mills, but was received with a "murderous fire."[37]
[Footnote 37: Confederate Narrative, Rebellion Record, Vol. V.
p. 250.]
The united efforts of the two Hills and General Branch were not
sufficient to dislodge the two brigades which held the position.
Griffin, Martindale, and Meade were ready to lend assistance, but were
not engaged. Griffin only fired a few shots. The Union loss was eighty
killed and about two hundred wounded. The Rebel loss is supposed to
have been nearly three thousand. The assaults upon the rifle-pits were
made with great desperation, but the men could not get through the
impassable abattis, and were cut down by the constant and steady fire
of musketry and canister at short range.
But the advance of General Jackson by Coal Harbor made it necessary
to withdraw the troops from this strong position and concentrate the
entire force on the north bank, to cover the bridges which had been
constructed between the two wings of the army. During the night General
McCall's division was withdrawn, contrary to the remonstrances of the
brave men who had held the ground against five times their force; but
they did not know that Jackson was on their rear with 40,000 men.
General McClellan ordered the heavy guns and all the baggage to be sent
across the Chickahominy. He had already meditated a retreat to the
James River.
"Run the cars to the last moment, and load them with provisions and
ammunition. Load every wagon you have with subsistence, and send them
to Savage Station," was the order sent to Colonel Ingalls, the Chief
Quarter-Master at White-House.
THE BATTLE OF GAINES'S MILLS.
The battle which was fought on the 27th of June is known in the South
as the battle of Coal Harbor; in the North, as the battle of Gaines's
Mills. General Fitz-John Porter commanded the Union troops, and General
Lee the Rebel army.
Starting from the Chickahominy and traveling up the little creek which
supplies Dr. Gaines's Mill with water, we come to the battle-field,
which lies on our right hand, east of the creek. The ravine is narrow
and the banks on both sides are steep. General Porter has cut down
the trees which stood on the hillside, and has thrown up rifle-pits
and intrenchments. He is to hold the enemy in check, while General
McClellan makes preparations for a retreat to James River. He has
thirty thousand men against seventy thousand. Commencing on the creek
near the Chickahominy, we see on our right hand General Morrell's
division, with Butterfield's, Martindale's, and Griffin's brigades.
Upon the other side is Longstreet, A. P. Hill, and Whiting.
General Griffin's brigade is south of the road which comes down from
Coal Harbor. Across the road is General Sykes's division of regulars,
composed of Warren's, Chapman's and Buchanan's brigades, confronted
by Ewell's, D. H. Hill's, and Jackson's divisions. General Porter's
second line at the beginning of the battle is composed of McCall's
division, stationed near the center, in rear of Griffin. He has some
cavalry on the road leading to Alexander's Bridge.
[Illustration: BATTLE OF GAINES'S MILLS.
=UNION TROOPS.=
1 Butterfield's Brigade.
2 Martindale's "
3 Griffin's "
4 Sykes's Division.
5 McCall's "
6 Slocum's "
=REBEL TROOPS.=
A Longstreet's Division.
B A. P. Hill's "
C Whiting's "
D Ewell's "
E D. H. Hill's "
F Jackson's "
G New Coal-Harbor, Lee's Head-Quarters.]
Late in the day Slocum's division, of Sumner's corps, crosses Sumner's
Bridge and takes position in rear of Sykes's.
It is a hot, sultry day. General Lee is at Hogan's plantation, near
New Coal-Harbor, sitting beneath the portico of the farm-house,
absorbed in thought. He is neatly dressed in a gray uniform, buttoned
to the throat. Longstreet is sitting in an old chair at the foot of
the steps beneath the trees, eating a lunch, with his feet against a
tree, his uniform faded and torn, buttons missing, and his boots old
and dusty. Gregg, Wilcox, Pryor, Featherstone, and other generals are
there waiting for Jackson, who has been marching hard all the morning
to get into position. A courier comes down the Coal-Harbor road,
delivers a message to Lee, who mounts his horse and rides away to New
Coal-Harbor.[38]
[Footnote 38: Battle-Fields of the South.]
It is past two o'clock in the afternoon before Lee is ready to begin
the attack. There has been a cannonade all along the line north
and south of the Chickahominy. Magruder, on the south side, has
instructions to make a grand demonstration, as if he was going to
attack McClellan. It is his intention to keep him from sending troops
to Porter's aid.
Lee intends to make a grand onset and sweep Porter into the
Chickahominy. Under cover of a tremendous fire from the artillery,
A. P. Hill begins the attack upon Griffin and Martindale, but under
the superior and effective fire of Captain Griffin's United States
battery, Weeden's Rhode Island, and Allen's and Martin's Massachusetts
batteries, the Rebel batteries are "overpowered and driven from the
field."[39] The Rebel infantry advances through the belt of timber, and
descends the ravine. From the rifle-pits there are sudden flashes and
quick spirts of flame, and the battle-cloud becomes thick and heavy.
[Footnote 39: Campaign from Texas to Maryland, p. 46.]
It would require many pages to make a full record of the terrible
combat. How Longstreet urged his men into the woods,--how the battle
rolled through the forest and surged back again,--how brigade after
brigade marched against Martindale, Griffin, and Butterfield, only
to fall back with broken and shattered ranks,--how the ground became
thick with the dead and wounded,--how men fired into each other's faces
and fell almost into each other's arms, mingling their life-blood in
one crimson stream,--how Jackson pressed on over the plain, urging
his men nearer and nearer,--how the Pennsylvania Reserves went up to
aid the Regulars,--how couriers dashed through the woods, over the
bridges to General McClellan, who was on the southern bank, asking
for reinforcements,--how Slocum's division went over, reached the
field, held in check the dark masses forming upon the flank of the
Regulars and Reserves, and held the ground. The hours hung heavily.
Three o'clock,--four o'clock,--five o'clock,--and no break in the line.
Thirty-five thousand against seventy! But the pressure is terrible.
French's and Meagher's brigades are ordered over. But moments are
precious. Six o'clock; the onset is greater than ever. Every regiment,
every man, is brought to the front, on both sides. The artillery still
thunders, but the infantry are out of ammunition. Longstreet has been
hurled back as often as he has advanced, and so has A. P. Hill and D.
H. Hill, but Jackson is working toward the Chickahominy on the left.
Sykes's men, who have been facing north, are obliged to face east to
meet the troops moving in a steady stream down the road leading to Old
Coal-Harbor. Men begin to leave the ranks and move toward the rear.
There is a desperate rush from Jackson's brigades upon the guns. The
Union line gives way.
If there was a fresh division or a brigade even at hand, the tide might
be stopped. There are sixty thousand men upon the southern bank of the
river, but General McClellan is afraid that Magruder with his division
will make an attack.
Whiting's division, which has been held in reserve by Lee, is ordered
up. All of his desperate charges and onsets have failed. If Whiting
fails, the battle is lost.
The Regulars and the Pennsylvania Reserves are worn out. Their
ammunition is nearly gone. Porter orders up his last man. They can have
no more support. At this moment, after they have held at bay for four
hours the great host, they are called upon to withstand the last grand
charge of Jackson.
Whiting advances, he is received with grape and canister. His line
halts, wavers, almost breaks; but Jackson, Whiting, Hood, and Law
urge the men to push on. They leap across the ravine, halt a moment,
sheltered by the bank above them from the fire of the Union batteries,
and then leap the breastwork and seize the guns. There is a short
struggle, a falling back, a retreat, and the battle of Gaines's Mills
is lost to General McClellan.
Meagher and French have reached the field, but they are too late to
save the day. Twenty guns have fallen into Lee's hands, and several
hundred prisoners. The cavalry in the rear draw their sabers, dash
upon the exultant foe, but it is an ineffectual charge. The retreating
troops fall in behind French and Meagher, form a new line nearer the
Chickahominy, as the darkness comes on. They have been driven from
their first position, but Lee has not power enough to drive them into
the Chickahominy. He decides to wait till morning before renewing the
attack.
The morning dawns, and Porter is beyond his reach across the river,
with all his siege guns, ammunition, and supplies.
How near Lee came to losing the battle may be seen by the following
extract from the narration of a Rebel correspondent of the Richmond
Whig:--
"It was absolutely necessary that we should carry their line, and,
to do this, regiment after regiment, and brigade after brigade was
successively led forward; still our repeated charges, gallant and
dashing though they were, failed to accomplish the end, and our troops,
still fighting, fell steadily back. Thus for more than two mortal hours
the momentous issue stood trembling in the balance. The sun was getting
far in the west, darkness would soon be upon us, and the point must be
carried. At this juncture--it was now five o'clock--the division of
the gallant Whiting hove in sight. On reaching the field their troops
rapidly deployed in line.... The charge was made under the most galling
fire I ever witnessed; shot, shell, grape, canister, and ball swept
through our lines like a storm of leaden hail, and our noble boys fell
thick and fast; and yet still, with the irresistible determination of
men who fight for all that men hold dear, our gallant boys rushed on.
"Suddenly a halt was made,--there was a deep pause, and the line
wavered from right to left. We now saw the character of the enemy's
works. A ravine deep and wide yawned before us, while from the other
side of the crest of the almost perpendicular bank, a breastwork of
logs was erected, from behind which the dastard invaders were pouring
murderous volleys upon our troops. The pause made by our troops was but
a brief breathing space. The voice of Law was heard, 'Forward, boys!
charge them!' and with a wild, mad shout our impetuous soldiery dashed
forward."[40]
[Footnote 40: Richmond Whig, June 29, 1862.]
THE MOVEMENT TO JAMES RIVER.
On the morning of the 28th, General Keyes and General Porter, followed
by long trains of wagons and herds of cattle, moved towards the south,
through the dark forests of White-Oak Swamp. At White-House landing,
sloops, schooners, barges, and steamers were departing for Yorktown.
At Savage Station the torch was applied to all the stores which could
not be removed. Barrels of pork, beef, sugar, bags of coffee, boxes
of bread, were destroyed. A railroad train loaded with ammunition was
standing on the track. The engine was ready for use. Far down the
track, there was a pillar of cloud rising from the burnt bridge across
the Chickahominy. The cars were set on fire. The engineer stepped upon
the engine for the last time, and pulled the throttle. The wheels
began to turn. He opened the valve to its full width, and jumped upon
the ground. The engine sprang down the descending grade, propelled by
the pent-up power. It is two miles from the station to the bridge,
and over this distance it rushed like an unchained tiger. Sparkling,
crackling, roaring with increasing velocity, dashing along the fields,
over the meadows, through the forests, a trail of fire, a streaming
banner of flame and smoke, a linked thunderbolt, rumbling, growling,
exploding, leaping from the abutment full forty feet, bursting into a
million fragments, jarring the earth with the mighty concussion, and
disappearing beneath the waters, a wreck, a ruin forever!
General McClellan was obliged to leave some of his sick and wounded.
Many soldiers shed tears as they bade a last farewell to their comrades.
"I would rather die than fall into the hands of the Rebels," said one.
"O my God! is this the reward I deserve for all the sacrifices I have
made, the battles I have fought, and the agony I have endured from my
wounds?"[41] was the despairing cry of another.
[Footnote 41: Peninsular Campaign.]
"Do not be ashamed of your cause. Defend it boldly, and put your trust
in God"; were the words of one noble chaplain, Rev. Mr. Marks, who
would not leave them, but who remained to be a prisoner for their
sakes. They prayed together and sang a hymn.
"Jesus, my God, I know his name,
His name is all my trust;
He will not put my soul to shame,
Nor let it e'er be lost."
They were comforted, and resolved to meet their fate like men.
The Rebels made no attack on Saturday. They were compelled to repair
the bridges which had been destroyed, before they could cross the
Chickahominy. General Sumner commanded the rear-guard. He retreated
slowly on Saturday to Peach Orchard, and halted to destroy the supplies.
On Sunday morning a portion of Lee's army advanced to attack Sumner,
who was at Peach Orchard and Allen's Farm; but Hazard's and Pettit's
batteries, with Sedgwick's division, quickly repulsed them.
BATTLE OF SAVAGE STATION.
Lee's divisions, one after another, filed across the hastily repaired
bridges. General Franklin was north of the railroad. He saw them, and
sent word to General Sumner, who fell back with Franklin to Savage
Station. General Franklin was on the right, Sumner in the center, and
Heintzelman nearer Richmond on the left. There was a misunderstanding
of orders; and General Heintzelman moved across White-Oak Swamp, which
exposed Sumner's left flank to the enemy.
Through the long Sabbath hours, these troops stood upon the wide plain
facing northwest, seemingly motionless almost as statues, while the
long wagon trains moved into the woods towards the south. They were
the rear-guard, and on them depended the salvation of the army.
Following the wagons were thousands of sick and wounded, working their
way towards the swamp, urged on by hope of escaping the hands of the
Rebels. It was heart-rending to hear the words of those who were too
badly wounded to be moved, or who could not be taken away.
The sun went down. Evening was coming on, yet the twenty thousand
men remained upon that field awaiting the attack,--three lines of
resolute, determined men. Brooks's, Hancock's, and Burns's brigades
were in front; with Osborn's, Bramhall's, Hazard's, and Pettit's
batteries,--twenty-four guns.
It was past five o'clock before the enemy opened the battle. An hour
passed of constant artillery firing. Then the Rebels advanced across
the wide and level plain with yellings and howlings.
There was a stream of fire from Sumner's line,--a steady outpouring of
deadly volleys. It was twenty thousand against forty thousand. There
were answering volleys from the Rebel lines. Sumner's batteries left
off firing shell and threw canister, and the lines, which had advanced
so triumphantly, were sent in confusion across the field. Again they
advanced, and were again repulsed. Longstreet and Jackson, once more
under cover of the gathering darkness, urged on their reluctant
troops. Sumner brought up his reserve brigades. It was a short, sharp
struggle,--a wild night-tempest,--the roaring of fifty cannon, and
thirty thousand muskets. The evening was unusually calm. Not a breath
of air stirred the leaves of the trees. The stars shone brightly.
Strange the scene,--so weird and terrible upon that plain! A thousand
men dropped from the Union ranks, and thrice that number from the ranks
of the Rebels.
"Who are you?" asked an officer of the Fifth Vermont, dimly seeing a
regiment in the darkness.
There was a momentary silence, and then the question, "Who are you?"
"The Fifth Vermont."
"Let them have it, boys," were the words of command shouted by the
Rebel officer. The Vermonters heard it. There was no flinching.
Instantly their rifles came to their cheeks.
There were two broad flashes of light, two rows of dead and wounded.
But the Vermonters held their ground; and the Rebels, shattered,
repulsed, and utterly defeated, disappeared in the gloom of night. It
was hard for the brave men to go away from their fallen comrades and
leave them upon the field which they had defended with their life's
blood, but it was impossible to remove them; and the long lines closed
in upon the wagons, marched down the forest road, and at daylight were
south of White-Oak Swamp.
BATTLE OF GLENDALE.
"Glendale" is the euphonious name given by Mr. Nelson to his farm,
which is located two miles south of White-Oak Swamp. It is a place
where several roads meet; from the north, the Swamp road; from the
east, the Long-Bridge road; from the south, the road leading to Malvern
Hill; from the southwest, the Newmarket road; from the northwest, the
Charles City road, leading to Richmond. There are farm-houses, groves,
ravines, wheat-fields waving with grain. Upon the Malvern road, there
is a church. West of the church, a half-mile, is the mansion of Mr.
Frazier, where the Rebel lines were formed on the 30th of June.
At sunrise on that morning, all the divisions of the Union army were
south of the swamp. Richardson and Smith, with Naglee's brigade, of
Casey's division, were guarding the passage at the swamp. Slocum was
on the Charles City road, northwest of the church. Kearney was between
that road and the Newmarket road. McCall was on the Newmarket road,
with Hooker and Sedgwick behind him, nearer the church.
Porter and Keyes were at Malvern with the trains, two miles distant.
Lee divided his army. Jackson, D. H. Hill, and Ewell followed McClellan
down the Swamp road; while A. P. Hill, Longstreet, Huger, Magruder,
and Holmes made all haste down the Charles City road from Richmond, to
strike McClellan on the flank and divide his army. The President of
the Confederacy went out with A. P. Hill to see the Union army cut to
pieces.
Jackson reached the bridge across the sluggish stream in the swamp, but
it was torn up; and on the southern bank stood Smith and Richardson.
Hazard's, Ayres's, and Pettit's batteries were in position. Jackson
brought up all his guns. There was a fierce artillery fight, lasting
through the day. Jackson succeeded in getting a small infantry force
across towards evening, but it was not strong enough to make an attack,
and nothing came of all his efforts to harass the rear.
During the afternoon, the pickets on the Charles City road discovered
A. P. Hill's troops filing off from the road, west of Frazier's farm,
toward the south. They went across the fields, and through the woods
to the Newmarket road. While the main body was thus taking position, a
small body of infantry and a battery opened fire upon Slocum; but he
had cut down the forest in his front, forming an impassable barrier, so
that he was secure from attack.
General McCall formed his division of six thousand men, with
Meade's brigade, north of the road, Seymour's south of it, and
Reynolds's,--commanded in this battle by Colonel Simmons,--in reserve.
He had five batteries,--Randall's on the right, Kerns's and Cooper's in
the center, and Dietrich's and Kanerhun's on the left,--all in front of
his infantry, looking down a gentle slope upon an open field; on the
west there was a brook, fringed with a forest growth, with the farm of
Mr. Frazier beyond.
It was half past two before Hill was ready to make the attack. He
threw out two regiments as skirmishers, which advanced to feel of
McCall's lines; but they were repulsed by the Seventh and Twelfth
Pennsylvania Reserves. Hill had twelve brigades, six of his own and six
of Longstreet's. Magruder and Huger had not arrived. His plan was to
strike with all his force at once.
Brigade after brigade advanced, but recoiled before the direct fire of
the batteries, sustained by the infantry.
"The thunder of the cannon, the cracking of the musketry, from
thousands of combatants, mingled with screams from the wounded and
dying, were terrific to the ear and to the imagination," says a
correspondent of the Cologne Gazette.
[Illustration: BATTLE OF GLENDALE.
1 Smith and Richardson.
2 Slocum.
3 Kearney.
4 Sumner.
5 Hooker.
6 McCall.
A Jackson, Ewell, and D. H. Hill.
B A. P. Hill and Longstreet.
C Newmarket road.
D Quaker road. ]
"Volleys upon volleys streamed across our front in such quick
succession that it seemed impossible for any human being to live under
it,"[42] writes a Rebel officer.
[Footnote 42: Battle-Fields of the South, p. 170.]
Five o'clock! The battle has raged two hours and a half, sustained
wholly by McCall, and Hill has not driven him an inch.
The Rebels desist from their direct attack in front, and throw all
their force upon Seymour's left, south of the road. McCall sends over
the Fifth and Eighth Regiments from his second line.
"Change front with the infantry and artillery," is his order.
Hill is pushing along his left flank to gain his rear.
McCall orders a charge, and it is executed with a promptness and vigor
sufficient to check the advancing troops. But his line has become
disordered by the charge. Hill improves the opportunity, and hurries up
his reserve brigades, which fire while advancing.
The gunners of the German batteries leave their pieces. McCall rides
among them, rallies them a moment, but the drivers are panic-stricken.
They dash off to the rear, breaking through the infantry, and trampling
down the men. The Rebels rush upon the deserted guns with unparalleled
frenzy. The line of McCall is broken, and portions of his troops follow
the fleeing cannoneers.
General McCall tries to rally the fugitives, but they are deaf to all
his orders. They stream on through Hooker's and Sumner's line.
Will Hooker's men join the drifting current? Now or never they must be
brave. Now or never their country is to be saved. All hearts feel it;
all hands are ready. They stand in the gateway of centuries. Unnumbered
millions are beckoning them to do their duty.
Hooker has Grover's brigade on the right, Carr's in the center,
and Sickles's on the left,--just the order in which they stood at
Williamsburg.
The Sixteenth Massachusetts, led by the heroic Colonel Wyman, met the
pursuers. The Sixty-Ninth Pennsylvania, of Sedgwick's division, joining
upon Hooker's right, delivered at the same moment a fire upon the flank
of the enemy. Along Sumner's front, from King's, Kirby's, Tompkins's
Owen's, and Bartlett's batteries, flashed double-shotted guns. It was
as if a voice had said, "Thus far and no farther!" Hooker's infantry
came into close battle-line, delivered a fire, which forced the Rebels
over against Sumner's batteries; which, in turn, threw them against
Kearney, and against Meade's brigade, which had not joined in the
fight. Grover pushed on with the First and Sixteenth Massachusetts,
the Second New Hampshire, and Twenty-Sixth Pennsylvania, with reckless
daring. Hill was driven back over all the ground he had won, with great
slaughter.
It was a decided repulse, but costly to the Sixteenth Massachusetts.
Its noble colonel fell at the head of his regiment. These were the last
words of one of the soldiers of that regiment: "I thank God that I am
permitted to die for my country, and I thank him yet more that I am
prepared,--or at least I hope I am."
So complete was the repulse that the Rebel troops became a mob, and
fled in terror towards Richmond.
"Many old soldiers," says a Rebel officer, "who had served on the
plains of Arkansas and Missouri wept in the bitterness of their souls
like children. Of what avail had it been to us that our best blood
had flowed for six long days? Of what avail all of our unceasing and
exhaustless endurance? Everything seemed lost, and a general depression
came over all our hearts. Batteries dashed past in headlong flight.
Ammunition, hospital, and supply wagons rushed along, and swept the
troops away with them from the battle-field. In vain the most frantic
exertions, entreaty, and self-sacrifice of the staff officers! The
troops had lost their foothold, and all was over with the Southern
Confederacy!"[43]
[Footnote 43: Cologne Gazette account.]
General Magruder's arrival alone saved Hill from an ignominious flight.
Through the night there was the red glare of torches upon the
battle-field where the Rebel wounded were being gathered up. Great
was the loss. Up to daylight there was no apparent diminution of the
heart-rending cries and groans of the wounded. A mournful wail was
heard from Glendale during that long, dismal night.[44]
[Footnote 44: Hooker's Report.]
THE BATTLE OF MALVERN.
The battle-field of July 1st, 1862, bears the pleasant name of Malvern.
It is on the north bank of the James,--an elevated plain near the
river, but declining gently towards the north,--divided into corn
and wheat fields, bordered on the east and west and south by wooded
ravines. The estate is owned by Dr. Carter. Although it bears a name so
pleasant, there have been sad scenes upon those fertile fields,--not
alone the shock, roar, and horror of a great battle, but the low
wail of mothers for their infants, torn from their arms and sold to
slave-traders,--the agonies of men under torture of the whip, their
flesh torn and mangled by an unfeeling master.
"Was he a good master?" I asked of an old negro at City Point, in July,
1864.
"No, sir. He was very bad, sir. He was de wussest dat eber was, sir. He
was so bad dat we call him Hell Carter, sir. 'Cause we tink dat de Lord
will send him to de bad place one ob dese days, sir. He go dere sure,
sir."
The mansion is a quaint old structure, built of red bricks, surrounded
by elms, and commanding a wide panorama of the James, of the valley of
the Appomattox, and the distant Richmond hills.
The house was standing in the time of the Revolution, and was marked on
the map of Cornwallis.
West of Malvern are the Strawberry Plains. A streamlet, which rises in
the vicinity of Glendale, courses to the James through a wooded ravine
between the Strawberry grounds and Malvern. The hill is so sharp and
steep and high that General Barnard was able to plant two tiers of
guns upon the slope, and crown it with heavy siege guns. The trees in
the ravine were felled, and rifle-pits thrown up, extending along the
western side and across the open field towards the north, where the
slope of the hill shades into the level plain.
Eastward, the trees were felled and their branches lopped by the
pioneers. It was a strong position, and these preparations made it
impregnable. Lee must assail it from the northwest,--over the wide
plain, exposed to the fire of sixty cannon.
Porter's corps occupied the ravine between Malvern and the Plains.
Couch's, Kearney's, and Hooker's divisions held the front towards the
north. Sumner's and Franklin's corps held the left; the Pennsylvania
Reserves and the remainder of Keyes's corps, the center. The line
was semicircular, and so well concentrated were the troops, that
reinforcements, if needed, might be had with little delay.
In the James River, two miles distant, lay a fleet of five gunboats,
carrying heavy guns,--near enough to throw shells upon the Strawberry
Plains.
The Rebels advanced cautiously. Jackson, Ewell, Whiting, and D. H.
Hill moved down the Quaker road, while Magruder, Longstreet, Huger,
and Holmes came down the Richmond road. Jackson, D. H. Hill, and Ewell
appeared in front of Couch; Huger and Magruder, in front of Morell's
division of Porter's corps; while Holmes filed through the woods
towards the James, along the western edge of Strawberry Plains.
Although the distance from Glendale is but two and a half miles, it
was past ten o'clock before the head of Magruder's columns appeared in
sight. A. P. Hill's division, which had been so terribly shattered at
Glendale, was left behind.
Magruder shelled the woods and advanced cautiously. There was a
pattering skirmish fire through the forenoon, with an artillery duel at
long range.
Noon passed, and there was no apparent disposition on the part of the
Rebels to make an attack. They dreaded the terrible fire from the
numerous guns gleaming in the sun upon the hillside.
[Illustration: BATTLE OF MALVERN.
1 Warren's Brig., Sykes's Div.
2 Buchanan's " " "
8 Chapman's " " "
4 Griffin's " Morell's "
5 Martindale's " " "
6 Butterfield's " " "
7 Couch's Division.
8 Sumner's and Heintzelman's Corps.
9 McCall's Division.
10 Abatis.
A Jackson, D. H. Hill, and Ewell.
B Longstreet.
C Magruder and Huger.
D A. P. Hill.
E Holmes.]
General Magruder brought all of the cannon into position which could be
advantageously posted, and at two o'clock opened a rapid fire, which
was replied to by the batteries on the hill. He threw forward his
skirmishers at an earlier hour.
Jackson moved forward a division upon Couch an hour later, but it was
hurled back in confusion by the fire of the batteries, and the deadly
volley delivered from the rifle-pits.
Holmes, all the while, had been edging towards the river, to gain the
rear of McClellan, but the enormous shells from the gunboats, which
tore down the forests, paralyzed his soldiers.
There was a consultation among the Rebel commanders. Lee had intrusted
the command in his center to Magruder. His brigadier-generals did not
want to advance over the plain.
"I am unwilling to slaughter my brigade," said General Cobb, "but, if
you command me, I shall make the charge if my last man falls."
"I intend to make the charge, no matter what it costs," said Magruder.
The commanders went to their brigades, murmuring that Magruder was
drunk, that it would be madness to make the attack.[45]
[Footnote 45: Pollard, Southern Hist.]
Magruder formed his line in the woods. Armistead's brigade moved upon
the Union picket line and drove it back. "Advance rapidly, press
forward your whole line, and follow up Armistead's successes. They are
reported to be getting off," was Lee's message to Magruder.
It was past six o'clock before Mahone, Ransom, Wright, Jones, and
Cobb were ready. At the word of command, fifteen thousand men move
from the shelter of the woods and appear upon the open plain, moving
in solid phalanx,--close, compact, shoulder to shoulder, to capture,
by a desperate charge, the batteries upon the hillside. It is madness!
Success has made them reckless.
With shoutings and howlings they break into a run. Instantly the hill
is all aflame, from base to summit. Shells, shrapnel, and canister are
poured upon them. There is the bellowing of a hundred cannon, mingled
with the multitudinous rattling of thousands of small arms.
The Rebel lines melt away,--whole squadrons tumbling headlong. In vain
the effort, the men waver, turn, and disappear within the woods.
Magruder is furious at the failure. Again the attempt,--again the same
result.
The sun is going down behind the hills when he makes his last
effort. Meagher and Sickles go up from the right, and strengthen
Porter's center. There is a shifting of batteries,--a movement to new
positions,--a re-arranging of regiments. The artillery on both sides,
and the gunboats, keep up a constant fire.
The Rebels advance, but they are not able to reach the base of the
hill. "From sixteen batteries," says the chaplain of the Fourth Texas,
"and from their gunboats they beclouded the day and lit the night with
a lurid glare. Add to this the light and noise of our own artillery,
which had been brought forward, and, like an opposing volcano with
a hundred craters, it gleamed, and flashed streams and sheets of
fire,--while long lines of human forms cast their shadows upon the
darkness in the background, and each joined with his firelock in hand
to contribute to the terrors of the awful scene."[46]
[Footnote 46: Campaign from Texas to Maryland.]
Officers and men, in this contest, go down in one indiscriminate
slaughter. They are whirled into the air, torn, mangled, blown into
fragments. They struggle against the merciless storm, break, and
disappear in the darkness, panting, exhausted, foiled, dispirited,
demoralized, refusing to be murdered, and uttering execrations upon the
drunken Magruder.[47]
[Footnote 47: Battle-Fields of the South.]
Although the army was upon James River, and in communication with
the gunboats, and although the Rebels had been repulsed mainly by
the artillery, orders were issued by General McClellan to retreat to
Harrison's Landing. At midnight the troops were on the march, stealing
noiselessly away, abandoning the wounded.
"Although," says General McClellan, "the result of the battle of
Malvern was a complete victory, it was necessary to fall back still
farther, in order to reach a point where our supplies could be brought
to us with certainty."[48]
[Footnote 48: Report, p. 140.]
There were some officers who were much amazed at this order. They felt
that having reached the river and defeated the enemy with terrible
slaughter there should be no more falling back.
"It is one of the strangest things in this week of disaster," says
Chaplain Marks, "that General McClellan ordered a retreat to Harrison's
Landing, six miles down James River, after we had gained so decided a
victory. When the order was received by the impatient and eager army,
consternation and amazement overwhelmed our patriotic and ardent hosts.
Some refused to obey the command. General Martindale shed tears of
shame. The brave and chivalrous Kearny said in the presence of many
officers, 'I, Philip Kearny, an old soldier, enter my solemn protest
against this order for retreat; we ought, instead of retreating, to
follow up the enemy and take Richmond. And, in full view of all the
responsibility of such a declaration, I say to you all, such an order
can only be prompted by cowardice or treason.'"[49]
[Footnote 49: Peninsular Campaign, p. 294.]